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31
[1929
The simplest way perhaps of giving the general idea of the infection within
the Borough will be to consider the cases in groups, dealing with importations
from outside, and in each group considering it from the point of view of the source
of infection as far as this could be ascertained.
Cases infected in St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and cases arising therefrom,
accounted for four cases.
As regards cases in private houses, a lad, unvaccinated, who is a shop
assistant in another borough, contracted Smallpox from a customer who made
purchases while she had the rash of Smallpox upon her; she had not sought
medical advice. Seven other unvaccinated members of the family, including the
father and mother, contracted the disease from this lad. Two others, brothers,
aged 19 and 17 years of age, escaped infection; they had been vaccinated in
infancy.
An interesting case in a private house was that in which the first case was a
disinfector, an elderly man, unprotected by recent vaccination, having been
vaccinated in infancy only. This man contracted Smallpox while disinfecting
houses infected with Smallpox in another part of London, as part of his work.
He spread the disease to his wife, vaccinated in infancy only, and two unvaccinated
daughters. Two other daughters, vaccinated in infancy, escaped. Cases in other
ordinary private houses do not call for any special comment.
Taking blocks of buildings, however, in Ebenezer Buildings, Rotherfield
Street, a girl, unvaccinated, who had just left school and started work, contracted
what was considered Chicken Pox. The Medical Officer of Health's attention was
not called to this case for 19 days. In the same household the infection spread to
two unvaccinated members, and to one aged 53 years, vaccinated in infancy only.
The infection also extended in the same block, affecting an unvaccinated child of
10 years, another unvaccinated child of 15 years, whose mother, also unvaccinated,
contracted the disease, and still in the same block the infection appeared in another
family, affecting an unvaccinated person of 17 years and another of 8 years.
Again, still two members of another family, twins, aged 11 years, were infected.
In addition, a son of the first case mentioned in these buildings, living elsewhere,
a frequent visitor, contracted the disease.
It will be noted that the infection, except for this last, the son living elsewhere,
apeared to be confined to the particular block.
As regards Peabody Buildings, Popham Street, infection was introduced from
the patient's workplace in East Ham. The patient was aged 19 years, but vaccination
had not been successfully done in infancy, and had not been again
attempted. His brother, living in an adjacent house of the same block, who had
never been vaccinated and who refused vaccination when offered on the removal
of his brother, contracted the disease. The outbreak in this particular set of
buildings was confined to these two cases.
In addition to the cases above mentioned, which are officially recorded as
Islington cases of Smallpox, nine cases were dealt with by us which were temporarily
within the Borough and who lived elsewhere. One, resident in Shoreditch,
was seen by the Medical Officer of Health at the Islington Medical Mission ;
one, resident in the City of London, was seen at the London Fever Hospital,
Liverpool Road. The remaining 7 cases were removed from the Holborn and
Finsbury Hospital, Archway Road. In connection with these cases at the Holborn
and Finsbury Hospital, attention was drawn on page 32 of the Medical Officer of
Health's Annual Report for 1928 to the worry caused by the transfer of such cases